Honouring the extraordinary deeds of ordinary people

"Over the past five months, our CNN Heroes initiative has shone a spotlight upon dozens of amazing people from around the globe," said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. "All of them deserve the designation as a 'hero', and these seven we honoured tonight truly stood out with their accomplishments, their courage and their humility."

From 1 May through September, CNN Worldwide has featured everyday heroes across its television networks, digital services and at www.CNN.com/Heroes, encouraging viewers to nominate local heroes they deem deserving of recognition as a CNN Hero. In its first year of the CNN Heroes initiative, CNN received more than 7,000 nominations from viewers in 80 countries, nominating people from more than 90 countries.

CNN and its audience narrowed the nominations to a list of 18 finalists, from which a blue ribbon panel of judges selected the eventual honourees.

The honourees in each of the six categories and one selected by CNN's global audience include:

• Medical Marvel - Peter Kithene of Seattle, USA, who founded a clinic in his native Kenya that has provided services to more than 18,000 patients. As an undergraduate attending the University of Washington at Seattle, Kithene raised money for a clinic and opened Mama Maria two years ago. To date, the clinic has provided services to more than 18,000 patients who previously had no health care. He plans to enlarge the clinic and launch an HIV-testing program.

• Young Wonder - Kayla Cornale, 18, of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, who developed a musical system to improve communications with her autistic cousin and other people with the disorder. Kayla's patented system "Sounds into Syllables" has won top awards at several international science fairs, captured the attention of autism researchers and is being tested in several Ontario school districts.

• Championing Children - Steve Peifer of Kijabe, Kenya, who combated severe dropout rates in Kenya by ensuring that more than 11,000 children have daily lunches at school and access to computers. Through these efforts, up to 11,000 children receive daily lunches nine months out of the year. Food, in combination with the computer labs, has produced a decrease in the dropout rate in rural Kenya.

• Community Crusader - Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe of Gulu, Uganda, who opened a school in her town to rehabilitate girls devastated by the Lord's Resistance Army. St. Monica's Girls Tailoring School gives about 300 girls and their babies room, board, an education and vocational skills free of charge to help them rebuild their lives.

• Defending the Planet - Irania Martinez Garcia of Guantanamo, Cuba, who has taught hundreds of residents to learn how to grow food efficiently while using organic and sustainable materials from the local dump and their own trash. Through Garcia's efforts, pollution declined considerably in the area, and unemployed citizens have found work converting dumps into resources that help them improve their quality of life.

• Fighting for Justice - Pablo Fajardo of Lago Agrio, Ecuador, who seeks to force one of the world's largest oil corporations to clean up toxic waste in the Amazon rain forest. Fajardo faces teams of corporate lawyers and his former employer as he seeks the millions of dollars it will take to clean up the waste.

• Viewers' Choice Award - Pat Pedraja, 12, of Tampa, Fl. USA, who embarked on a one-kid mission to change the makeup of the nation's bone marrow registry. A leukaemia patient himself but not one in need of a marrow transplant, Pat visited 30 states through his "Driving for Donors" program to encourage minorities like himself to become donors. In just three months, Pat raised more than $100,000 and helped sign up more than 5,000 people to the registry.

In addition to honouring everyday heroes, the broadcast tribute paid special recognition to Christopher Reeve with the presentation of the inaugural CNN Heroes' Hero award. After a tragic horse-riding accident, Reeve along with his wife, Dana, formed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to support efforts to find cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries and improving the lives of people living with paralysis. Reeve's eldest children, Matthew and Alexandra, along with Peter D. Kiernan, chairman of the board of the Reeve Foundation, accepted the award.

The gala tribute included performances from Grammy Award winners Mary J. Blige and Sheryl Crow and a duet by Grammy Award winner Norah Jones and acclaimed performer-producer Wyclef Jean and appearances from Tyra Banks, Glenn Close, Harry Connick, Jr., Rosario Dawson, Kyra Sedgwick, Jimmy Smits and Mira Sorvino.

Joel Gallen, who has helmed ambitious telethon events supporting victims of both the September 11th terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, served as executive producer for the event. Gallen won a Peabody Award for "America: A Tribute to Heroes" and has been nominated for several Emmys throughout his career. Kelly Flynn is senior executive producer for the CNN Heroes initiative.